Liberty University

Jessica Barnes joined the Liberty staff as an assistant swimming coach, becoming the first assistant coach in program history, as the 2010-11 women’s swimming team completed its inaugural campaign. She was elevated to associate head coach in Aug. 2019, a title she currently holds. Barnes has been instrumental in recruiting and training. The recruiting class for 2011-12 received mention from CollegeSwimming.com for deepening its talent pool with a large class. During her time at Liberty, the Lady Flames have posted a 120-35 dual meet record. Additionally, Liberty has won five CCSA titles (2014, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022) and posted six conference runner-up finishes (2012, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018). Barnes helped guide Liberty to its fourth CCSA Championship in a row, as the Lady Flames won the 2022 CCSA Championship by 302.5 points over second-place FGCU. Liberty has won the CCSA Championship all three years (2019, 2021, 2022) that it has been held at Liberty Natatorium. Sophomore Maddie Freece was named CCSA Women’s Diver of the Year for the second year in a row, while Sydney Stricklin was named Most Outstanding Freshman of the CCSA Meet. At the 2022 CCSA Championships, Liberty totaled 26 podium finishes, nine event victories, four NCAA B cuts and four NCAA Zone Qualifying scores. The Lady Flames earned their third straight CCSA title, sharing the 2021 CCSA Championship with FGCU as both teams scored 1,748.5 points. Senior Payton Keiner (200 backstroke) became the third swimmer in conference history to win four straight CCSA titles in the same event. Freshman Maddie Freece won both one-meter and three-meter diving, earning CCSA Women’s Diver of the Year honors. Liberty earned 21 podium finishes, seven event victories, one program record, three NCAA Zone Qualifying scores and four NCAA B cuts. Liberty claimed the 2020 championship with 1,566 points. Mikayla Herich was named Most Outstanding Performer of the CCSA Meet, while Eva Suggs earned Most Outstanding Freshman of the CCSA Meet. For the second year in a row, Liberty set program records for podium finishes (29) and event victories (14) at a CCSA Championship meet, and earned 10 B cuts. Junior Payton Keiner was named a CSCAA All-American after being invited to compete at the NCAA Division I Women’s Swimming & Diving Championships. The Lady Flames also posted their 100th dual-meet victory during the season-opening Penn State Sprint Fest on Oct. 4, 2019. The Lady Flames hosted the 2019 CCSA Championships, scoring a meet-record 1,859.5 points while ousting four-time defending champion FGCU by nearly 200 points. It came five years to the day after Liberty’s first championship. Gianni Pitto was named Most Outstanding Freshman of the CCSA Meet, the third straight year a Liberty swimmer has won the award. Liberty finished the meet with program records for both podium finishes (27) and event victories (10) at a CCSA Championship meet, and earned eight B cuts. In 2017-18, Liberty finished second at the CCSA Championships, with a program-record 1,501.5 points. For the conference meet as a whole, the Lady Flames registered a program-record-tying 20 podium finishes, 16 NCAA B cuts, nine program records, two conference records, four meet records and nine event victories. Payton Keiner was named Most Outstanding Female Freshman of the CCSA Meet, and joined Alicia Finnigan at the 2018 NCAA Championships. Finnigan received the sport’s highest academic honor, being named the NCA ELITE 90 Award recipient for having the highest GPA among any student athlete at the NCAA Women’s Swimming & Diving Championships. Finnigan was later voted CCSA Women’s Swimmer of the Year. The 2016-17 season saw the Lady Flames earn their third straight conference runner-up finish. Alicia Finnigan and Prudence Rooker both recorded three podium finishes at the CCSA Championships. Freshman Brittany Weiss became the third Lady Flame to be named the Most Outstanding Freshman of the CCSA Meet. Finnigan went on to break the CCSA record in the 200 fly before making her first career appearance in the NCAA Division I Women’s Swimming & Diving Championships. Liberty’s strong recruiting and training helped the Lady Flames win their first-ever CCSA title in 2014. During the 2014 conference meet, the Lady Flames recorded 18 podium finishes, nine B cuts, one A cut (200 medley relay), six CCSA records, six meet records and 16 program records at the conference championship meet. Liberty then went on to place 43rd at the 2014 NCAA Division I Women’s Swimming & Diving Championships, as Jess Reinhardt placed 10th in the 100 fly in a CCSA-record 51.72. During her first season, she helped lead the Lady Flames to a 7-9 overall record and a sixth-place finish at the CCSA Championships. Liberty followed up with a 12-2 record in 2011-12, improving to second place at the conference meet. The Liberty coaching staff was honored when head coach Jake Shellenberger was named 2012 CCSA Swimming Coach of the Year. The 2012-13 edition of the Lady Flames followed up with another second-place finish at the conference meet. The Lady Flames earned their first national ranking in program history during the season, being ranked No. 37 in the Endless Pools/CollegeSwimming.com Top 25. Brye Ravettine earned CCSA Co-Freshman of the Meet and Mid-Major All-America honorable mention honors in 2011. Ravettine, along with Bethany Wakeley, earned qualifying times for the 2011 USA Swimming National Championships. In 2012, Ravettine was named CCSA Swimmer of the Year and Swimmer of the Meet, and became Liberty’s first swimming All-American and first Lady Flame to compete in the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in swimming. Barnes, who won two Big Ten team titles as an athlete for Penn State, came to Liberty from Rutgers, where she served as an assistant coach. During her time with the Scarlet Knights, she coordinated all aspects of recruiting and developed a training plan for the sprinters. Her 2010 recruiting class at Rutgers earned honorable mention status from CollegeSwimming.com. Prior to coaching at Rutgers, Barnes worked as an assistant high school swim coach for the State College Area School District in State College, Pa. While there, she designed and implemented a training program for sprinters, and coached the third-place finisher in the 50-freestyle event at the 2009 PIAA State Championship meet. As a competitive swimmer, Barnes was a two-time honorable mention All-American in the 800 freestyle relay, a two-time NCAA Academic All-American and a three-time Big Ten Academic all-conference member. She was also a Big Ten second team selection for the 800 freestyle relay in 2006, and won the Nittany Lion Award for Most Improved in 2007. Barnes earned her bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Penn State in 2007, where she was a seven-time Dean’s List honoree. In May 2012, she received a Master of Education – Teaching and Learning in Special Education from Liberty.

Andrew Helmich, a former SEC diver with SEC coaching experience, was hired as Liberty’s head diving coach during July 2020. He leads all facets of the Liberty diving program. During his first season at Liberty, he helped the Lady Flames’ divers make an impact at both the conference and regional level. Freshman Maddie Freece won both one-meter and three-meter diving at the CCSA Championships, being named both CCSA Women’s Diver of the Year and Most Outstanding Diver at the CCSA Meet. Freece, the 2021 VaSID State Rookie Diver of the Year, set a new program record in one-meter diving. Additionally, Freece earned finals appearance in both one-meter and three-meter at NCAA Zone Championships. Junior Lauren Chennault earned two podium finishes at the CCSA Championships and made the one-meter final at Zones. Helmich spent three seasons (2016-19) as a volunteer assistant coach at his alma mater, South Carolina. The Gamecocks’ divers thrived under Helmich’s instruction, as he coached three SEC champions and three NCAA Championship finalists. The Gamecocks also sent divers to the FINA Grand Prix semifinals and finals during Helmich’s time as a coach. Over the same span, he served as head coach for the South Carolina Divers, leading the club to several National Championship appearances. The South Carolina Divers sent one diver to the National Finals, while one athlete earned an invitation to the CAMO Invitational, gaining international experience. His most recent coaching experience came within the last year, as he was the program manager for the 14 & older division with the Carolina Diving Academy in Huntersville, N.C. Prior to his return to Columbia, S.C., Helmich served as Marshall’s head diving coach from 2014 through 2016. He coach 12 conference finalists and four Conference USA medalists, including one C-USA champion. While competing at South Carolina from 2010-14, Helmich appeared in the NCAA Zone Championships as both a junior and senior. A five-time SEC scorer, he was named to the SEC Academic Honor Roll in 2012. Helmich, hailing from North Augusta, S.C., graduated from South Carolina in 2014 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English. Helmich takes over a Liberty diving program that has sent three divers (Lauren Chennault, Abigail Egolf-Jensen and Olivia Robinson) to the NCAA Zone Championships each of the last two seasons. All three divers have earned CCSA podium finishes during their careers, highlighted by Chennault’s one-meter conference title in 2020.

Jake Shellenberger was hired as the department’s first-ever head women’s swimming coach on July 29, 2009. Since that time, Shellenberger has set about building the Lady Flames into a strong contender in the pool. Shellenberger has posted a 120-35 dual-meet record, leading the Lady Flames to five CCSA titles (2014, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022) and six conference runner-up finishes (2012, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018) to date. He was instrumental in the design of the state-of-the-art Liberty Natatorium, which opened Dec. 1, 2017 and was dedicated on Jan. 26, 2018. The Liberty Natatorium seats 1,400 fans in a bowl configuration. It features a nine-lane, 50-meter pool with a movable bulkhead. A separate 17-foot diving well includes 1- and 3-meter springboards and a three-column tower. Among many other features, the natatorium is pre-wired for TV broadcasts. Shellenberger has earned four CCSA Swimming Coach of the Year honors, including 2012 (conference runner-up finish), 2014 (conference championship), 2019 (conference championship) and 2022 (conference championship). He led Liberty to its fourth CCSA Championship in a row, as the Lady Flames won the 2022 CCSA Championship by 302.5 points over second-place FGCU. Liberty has won the CCSA Championship all three years (2019, 2021, 2022) that it has been held at Liberty Natatorium. Sophomore Maddie Freece was named CCSA Women’s Diver of the Year for the second year in a row, while Sydney Stricklin was named Most Outstanding Freshman of the CCSA Meet. At the 2022 CCSA Championships, Liberty totaled 26 podium finishes, nine event victories, four NCAA B cuts and four NCAA Zone Qualifying scores. The Lady Flames earned their third straight CCSA title, sharing the 2021 CCSA Championship with FGCU as both teams scored 1,748.5 points. Senior Payton Keiner (200 backstroke) became the third swimmer in conference history to win four straight CCSA titles in the same event. Freshman Maddie Freece won both one-meter and three-meter diving, earning CCSA Women’s Diver of the Year honors. Liberty earned 21 podium finishes, seven event victories, one program record, three NCAA Zone Qualifying scores and four NCAA B cuts. Liberty claimed the 2020 championship with 1,566 points. Mikayla Herich was named Most Outstanding Performer of the CCSA Meet, while Eva Suggs earned Most Outstanding Freshman of the CCSA Meet. For the second year in a row, Liberty set program records for podium finishes (29) and event victories (14) at a CCSA Championship meet, and earned 10 B cuts. Junior Payton Keiner was named a CSCAA All-American after being invited to compete at the NCAA Division I Women’s Swimming & Diving Championships. The Lady Flames also posted their 100th dual-meet victory during the season-opening Penn State Sprint Fest on Oct. 4, 2019. The Lady Flames hosted the 2019 CCSA Championships, scoring a meet-record 1,859.5 points while ousting four-time defending champion FGCU by nearly 200 points. It came five years to the day after Liberty’s first championship. Gianni Pitto was named Most Outstanding Freshman of the CCSA Meet, the third straight year a Liberty swimmer has won the award. Liberty finished the meet with program records for both podium finishes (27) and event victories (10) at a CCSA Championship meet, and earned eight B cuts. In 2017-18, Liberty finished second at the CCSA Championships, with 1,501.5 points. For the conference meet as a whole, the Lady Flames registered a program-record-tying 20 podium finishes, 16 NCAA B cuts, nine program records, two conference records, four meet records and nine event victories. Payton Keiner was named Most Outstanding Female Freshman of the CCSA Meet, and joined Alicia Finnigan at the 2018 NCAA Championships. Finnigan received the sport’s highest academic honor, being named the NCA ELITE 90 Award recipient for having the highest GPA among any student athlete at the NCAA Women’s Swimming & Diving Championships. Finnigan was later voted the CCSA Women’s Swimming ot the Year. The 2016-17 season saw the Lady Flames earn their third straight conference runner-up finish. Alicia Finnigan and Prudence Rooker both recorded three podium finishes at the CCSA Championships. Freshman Brittany Weiss became the third Lady Flame to be named the Most Outstanding Freshman of the CCSA Meet. Finnigan went on to break the CCSA record in the 200 fly before making her first career appearance in the NCAA Division I Women’s Swimming & Diving Championships. In 2015-16, the Lady Flames earned their highest national rankings to date, listed 26th in the CollegeSwimming.com Team Rankings and No. 4 in the CollegeSwimming.com Mid-Major Rankings on Oct. 6. After defeating TCU, Liberty has defeated a team from each Power Five conference at least once. In just the fourth year in program history, Shellenberger coached the Lady Flames to the 2014 CCSA Championship title, holding off five-time defending champion Florida Gulf Coast, 732.5 to 718.5. During the 2014 conference meet, the Lady Flames recorded 18 podium finishes, nine B cuts, one A cut (200 medley relay), six CCSA records, six meet records and 16 program records. During the 2013-14 season, Liberty was ranked as highly as 13th in the College Swimming.com Mid-Major Ranking, while making it to 48th in the Endless Pools/CollegeSwimming.com National Rankings. Liberty placed 43rd at the 2014 NCAA Division I Women’s Swimming & Diving National Championships, making its third straight NCAA nationals appearance. Sophomore Jess Reinhardt became Liberty’s highest-placing individual at nationals, finishing 10th in the 100 fly in a CCSA-record time of 51.72. Liberty posted its second runner-up finish in a row, taking second place at the 2013 CCSA Swimming & Diving Championships. The Lady Flames earned their first national ranking in program history during the 2012-13 season, being ranked No. 37 in the Endless Pools/CollegeSwimming.com Top 25. During Liberty’s second year as a program, the team earned its first All-America honor, as Brye Ravettine placed 13th in the 50 free at the 2012 NCAA Division I Swimming and Diving Championships. Ravettine was also named 2012 CCSA Swimmer of the Year and Swimmer of the Meet. Ravettine was listed on the Mid-Major All-America list by CollegeSwimming.com during 2011 and 2012, while Cori Gary was named to the honorable mention team in 2012. In addition, the 2011-12 recruiting class received mention on CollegeSwimming.com. The Lady Flames have also competed on the national stage, including USA Swimming Nationals and Winter Nationals, in addition to the Olympic Trials. Ravettine placed 17th in the 50-meter free at the 2011 USA Swimming Winter National Championships, qualifying her for the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team Trials. Ravettine, Laura Day and Reinhardt all competed in Olympic Trials during 2012. Emilie Kaufman and Day qualified for finals in the 100-meter breaststroke at the 2013 U.S. Open, with Kaufman taking 13th place overall. Finnigan tied for 10th in the 200-meter butterfly at the 2017 Phillips 66 Championships while finishing 10th in the 200 fly at the 2018 Phillips 66 Nationals. Finnigan finished fifth in the 200 fly at the 2018 USA Swimming Winter Nationals, qualifying for the 2020 U.S. Olympic Team Trials. Prior to joining the Liberty staff, Shellenberger served as an assistant coach on Penn State’s men’s and women’s swimming and diving coaching staff. During his three-year stint with the Nittany Lions, Shellenberger worked primarily with Penn State’s male and female sprinters. While at Penn State, Shellenberger instructed 15 NCAA qualifiers, 13 school record holders, eight NCAA All-America honorable-mention performers, two Olympic Trials finalists, two NCAA All-Americans and the Nittany Lions’ first-ever individual national champion (Pat Schirk/2008 national champion in the men’s 200 backstroke). Besides writing and directing Penn State’s dryland and yearly plyometric and strength programs, Shellenberger focused on the Nittany Lions’ recruiting efforts. His first recruiting class at Penn State was ranked No. 21 nationally by CollegeSwimming.com, while his second was listed at No. 15. During the summer of 2007, Shellenberger served as a volunteer assistant coach at Arizona, where he worked under Arizona head coach and USA Olympic coach Frank Busch and Rick DeMont, the Wildcats’ world-renowned sprint coach. Prior to his days at Penn State and Arizona, Shellenberger got his collegiate coaching start as the head women’s swimming coach at Millersville University in 2006. He also gained valuable coaching experience as an assistant coach under Pete Clark at the Trident Swim Club in Lancaster, Pa., and as an assistant coach under Donnie Miller at Chambersburg Area Senior High School. Shellenberger graduated from Shippensburg University with a Bachelor of Arts in history in December 2005, while receiving a minor in coaching. He was a four-year member of the Raiders’ swimming program, captaining the team during the 2004-05 season. Shellenberger is a former Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) and a current member of the National Strength and Conditioning Association, American Swimming Coaches Association, and the College Swimming Coaches Association of America. In 2016 he published a book on Power Tower training for swimming, selling more than 700 copies worldwide, to date. During the summer of 2012, Shellenberger married the former Lorin Milotta, and the couple resides on a farm in Forest, Va. with their sons Eli and Levi, and daughter, Clara. In 12 years of program history • Four-time CCSA Coach of the Year (2012, 2014, 2019, 2022) • 5 CCSA Conference titles (2014, 2019, 2020, 2021. 2022) • 6 CCSA Conference Runner-up finishes • 120–35 Dual Meet Record • 50 CCSA Individual Champions • 21 CCSA Relay Champions • 14 CCSA Conference Records (8 individual, 6 relay) • 12 CCSA Conference Meet Records (6 individual, 6 relay) • 7 NCAA Championship Appearances • 3 NCAA All-Americans • 1 NCAA Elite 90 Award Winner • 3 CollegeSwimming.com Mid-Major All-Americans • 2 CCSA Women’s Swimmers of the Year • 2 CCSA Women’s Diver of the Year • 2 CCSA Women’s Swimmers of the Meet • 3 CCSA Women’s Divers of the Meet • 7 CCSA Women’s Freshmen of the Meet • 45 CCSA Swimmer/Diver of the Week Honors • 20 VaSID All-State Honors • 20 CSCAA Scholar All-America Team Awards • 42 CSCAA Scholar All-America Individual Awards • 3 CoSIDA At-Large Academic All-Americans • 3 CoSIDA At-Large Academic All-District Honors • 4 VaSID Academic All-State Mentions • 2 US Olympic Trials appearances (2012, 2016) • 6 USA Swimming National scoring performances (2012 Winter Nationals, 2013 US Open, 2017 Phillips 66 Nationals, 2018 Phillips 66 Nationals, 2018 Winter Nationals, 2019 Phillips 66 Nationals)